The nine activists, ranging from 22 to 73-years-old, were charged with either conspiring to cause public nuisance or inciting others to do so in relation to the 2014 protests, which called for fully free leadership elections.

The case was adjourned to May 25 after a brief hearing in magistrates' court, during which the defence requested a High Court jury trial so that the public could participate in the decision.

The defendants could face up to seven years in prison. They have yet to enter a plea.

Dozens of Beijing supporters and pro-democracy protestors faced off outside the court, yelling profanities at each other, before the nine defendants were due to emerge.

The group of activists were charged one day after pro-Beijing leader Carrie Lam was selected as city leader [Bobby Yip/Reuters]

Some pro-China supporters slapped a picture of activist Benny Tai Yiu-ting with a pink plastic slipper, mimicking a local custom practised by some residents where a shoe is used to beat an image of an enemy.

The 2014 uprising saw hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets to protest against Beijing's insistence that Hong Kong's leader - the chief executive - must be vetted by a 1,200-person committee before facing a public vote.

Speaking outside court, movement leader Benny Tai Yiu-ting told reporters the activists would not give up on the fight for democracy in Hong Kong.

"I believe our society is steeped with the spirit of civil disobedience," said Tai, co-founder of Occupy Central, one of the groups behind the 2014 Umbrella Movement rallies.